In fact, one of the first acts of this administration when it assumed office in 1992 was the establishment of a Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, the brainchild of late President Dr. Cheddi Jagan, to help improve conditions and living standards of our indigenous peoples who suffered tremendously under colonialism and the previous government.

So this move to establish low income housing programmes in the hinterlands should not come as a surprise.

THE administration continues to embrace its obligations to Amerindians through the implementation of development programmes that will create greater opportunities for improving the living standards of Guyana’s First People.

The Housing and Water Ministry, in its quest to develop the sector, will be implementing several housing and water programmes under the Second Low-Income Settlement (LIS) programme to address the needs of hinterland communities. Housing and Water Minister Irfaan Ali and a team of officials from the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) and his Ministry, on Sunday, met with Great Falls (Mabura Hill Mission) residents, Region Ten to enlighten them about housing and water interventions for the area.

According to Minister of Housing and Water Minister Irfaan Ali his Ministry has embarked on a $200M housing programme to establish 200 low-income homes in the hinterland communities.

The initiative which will be undertaken for the first time in the hinterland region will be executed under the recently launched US$27.9M Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Second LIS programme

It will see the development of 4, 900 house lots that will benefit about 12,000 people.

The Ministry wants to ensure hinterland residents have equal access to resources and establishing houses is among its objectives, Minister Ali said.

Chief Executive Officer, CH&PA Myrna Pitt said consultations are being conducted to examine some of the constraints which affect the communities.

“We have to look at issues of providing infrastructure like water which is important and the traditional way of occupancy of land in the hinterland which seems a little more in a separated form rather than in a more homogenous manner. We will have to examine how we can implement that project to ensure that the infrastructure that is to be provided is done in a way that will optimise those services,” Pitt said.

Further outreaches, she said, will be conducted in various hinterland communities.

This approach whereby the people are consulted is most commendable as many times programmes and projects are implemented in communities which are void of consultations which sometimes lead to unnecessary difficulties later on.

Besides, the involvement of the people in the developmental process is a basic tenet of democracy which we are striving to deepen and widen.

Housing development has been a success story under this government scores of housing schemes have been developed across the country, through both public and private sector initiatives.

Notably the government has recognised that the poorer sections of the population are finding it difficult to build houses because of financial constraints hence it has been steadfastly pushing low income housing programmes.

And this new low income hinterland housing programme will certainly bring smiles to the residents of those communities.